1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a barrier hinge assembly, especially to a barrier hinge assembly that can be folded and unfolded firmly and adjusted easily.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Barriers can be placed around hazardous or dangerous objects to prevent people from contacting the objects, across passageways to block access to a specific area or around children or pets to restrict their movement to a given area to keep them from being harmed.
With reference to FIG. 5, a conventional barrier comprises two or more barrier segments (AA) connected by a conventional barrier hinge assembly. The conventional barrier hinge assembly is mounted on protruding ends of adjacent barrier segments (AA) and comprises an upper hinge assembly (60), a lower hinge assembly (70) and a pivot assembly (80).
The upper hinge assembly (60) is mounted on upper ends of adjacent barrier segments (AA) and has an upper gudgeon device (61) and an upper pintle device (62). The upper gudgeon device (61) is attached to and protrudes longitudinally from the upper end of one barrier segment (AA) and has a lower surface and a cylindrical protrusion. The cylindrical protrusion is formed on and protrudes down from the lower surface and has a central pivot hole, an outer edge and multiple teeth (611). The teeth (611) are formed longitudinally on the outer edge of the cylindrical protrusion. The upper pintle device (62) is attached to and protrudes longitudinally from an upper end of the other adjacent barrier segment (AA), engages and holds the upper gudgeon device (61) and has an upper surface, a lower surface, a recess (621), an upper pintle, multiple teeth (622) and a coaxial recess (623). The recess (621) is formed in the upper surface of the upper pintle device (62) and has an inner sidewall. The upper pintle is formed concentrically in and protrudes up from the recess (621) and is mounted rotatably in the central pivot hole in the upper gudgeon device (61). The teeth (622) are formed longitudinally in the inner sidewall of the recess (621) and correspond to and selectively engage the teeth (611) on the cylindrical protrusion of the upper gudgeon device (61) to hold the upper gudgeon device (61) in place. The coaxial recess (623) is formed in the lower surface of the upper pintle device (62) concentrically with the recess (621).
The lower hinge assembly (70) is mounted on lower ends of adjacent barrier segments (AA) and has a lower gudgeon device (71) and a lower pintle device (72). The lower gudgeon device (71) is attached to and protrudes longitudinally from the lower end of one barrier segment (AA) and has a lower surface, a cylindrical protrusion and a through hole (712). The cylindrical protrusion is formed on and protrudes down from the lower surface and has an outer edge and multiple teeth (711) The teeth (711) are formed longitudinally on the outer edge of the cylindrical protrusion. The through hole (712) is formed concentrically through the lower gudgeon device (71) and the cylindrical protrusion. The lower pintle device (72) is attached to and protrudes longitudinally from the lower end of the other adjacent barrier segment (AA), engages and holds the lower gudgeon device (71) and has an upper surface, a recess (721), a lower pintle and multiple teeth (722). The recess (721) is formed in the upper surface of the lower pintle device (72) and has an inner sidewall. The lower pintle is formed concentrically in and protrudes up from the recess (721) and is mounted rotatably in the central through hole (712) in the lower gudgeon device (71). The teeth (722) are formed longitudinally the inner sidewall of the recess (721) and correspond to and selectively engage the teeth (711) of the lower gudgeon device (71) to hold the lower gudgeon device (71) in place. The pivot assembly (80) is mounted between the upper and the lower hinge assemblies (60, 70) and has a spring (81) and a pivot rod (82). The spring (81) is mounted in the coaxial recess (623) of the upper pintle device (62). The pivot rod (82) is mounted in the coaxial recess (623) of the upper pintle device (62) against the spring (81) and through the through hole (712) of the lower gudgeon device (71) against the lower pintle of the lower pintle device (72).
To adjust the conventional barrier, one barrier segment (AA) is lifted axially along the pivot assembly (80) until the teeth (611, 711) of the upper and lower gudgeon devices (61, 71) disengage from the teeth (622, 722) of the upper and lower pintle devices (62, 72). Then, adjacent barrier segments (AA) can be pivoted relative to each other to fold or unfold the barrier.
However, the conventional barrier hinge assembly is held in position merely with the teeth (611, 711) of the upper and lower gudgeon devices (61, 71) engaging the teeth (622, 722) of upper and lower pintle devices (62, 72). Bumping or lifting one barrier segment (AA) easily disconnects adjacent barrier segments (AA). Furthermore, lifting one barrier segment (AA) only enough to disengage the teeth (611, 621, 712, 722) and not to disconnect the barrier segments (AA) is inconvenient to operate. Also, the teeth (611, 621, 712, 722) break easily improperly aligned or wear down with long-term use. Moreover, the spring (81) that pushes the upper pintle device (62) to engage the upper gudgeon device (61) and the pivot rod (82) mounted in the through hole (712) of the lower gudgeon device (71) cannot hold the barrier segments (AA) firmly in position. Thus, the conventional barrier hinge assembly loosens or collapses easily.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a barrier hinge assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.